1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to application specific integrated circuits, and more specifically to field programmable gate arrays and logic cells therefor.
2. Description of Related Art
Application specific integrated circuits ("ASIC") provide their users the ability to manufacture products having a proprietary design without having to begin the design at the device level. Many different ASIC technologies are available, including gate array, standard cell, full custom design, and programmable logic devices. The gate array, standard cell, and full custom technologies offer high performance and flexibility, although at the expense of a long development cycle and a high non-recurring engineering cost. Programmable logic devices, which include programmable logic array devices ("PLD") and field programmable logic array devices ("FPLA"), are useful in a variety of applications such as glue logic and simple integrated circuit designs. Their utility has been limited in general due to a relatively low number of available usable gates, poor flexibility in implementing the required logic functions, low speed of operation, and high power consumption.
The reason for the limited utility of FPLA and PLD devices is generally due to the exponential increase in the size of the array as the number of logic elements increase. A FPLA typically contains a programmable AND array and a programmable OR array, while a PLD typically contains a programmable AND array and a fixed OR array. The programmable elements in a programmable array are constructed of active devices such as diodes or transistors connected to a fusible link, ultraviolet erasable floating gate devices, and electrically erasable floating gate devices. Generally, such devices are resistive and high in parasitic capacitance, and consume a relatively large silicon area. Since generally each product term consumes a certain amount of power, as the array size increases, the power dissipation increases. Moreover, the speed decreases with increasing array size, due to the increasingly parasitic capacitance of the array. Hence, for a given technology, the size of the array is restricted by practical considerations.
The utility of PLDs and FPLAs has been further extended by the technique of a programmable interconnect network for modules consisting of small PLDs or FPLAs. While some improvement in maximum practical size is realized, the degree of improvement is limited by the same problems afflicting PLDs and FPLAs; specifically, speed deterioration and power dissipation.
One device of the programmable interconnect small array type is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,774,421, issued Sep. 22, 1988 to Hartmann et al. The device consists of a plurality of "macrocells," each including a programmable AND array, an OR/NOR array, a feedback row driver, and an I/O driver and input circuit. The macrocells are driven from two common buses, one carrying input signals and the other carrying feedback signals. This device achieves a logic complexity of 300 2-input NAND gates.
Another device of the programmable interconnect small array type is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,847,612, issued Jul. 11, 1989. A plurality of functional units are arranged in a matrix of rows and columns. Each functional unit has 12 inputs and 9 outputs, although the number may vary. Each functional unit performs one or more logical functions. Vertical lines are permanently connected to the outputs of the functional units, while horizontal lines are permanently connected to the inputs of the functional units. Each of the horizontal and vertical lines is a collection of conductive lines whose number matches the number of inputs and outputs of one of the functional units. The horizontal and vertical lines cross at various areas of the device to form programmable interconnection matrices. Programming may be by mask, conductive fuses, or EPROM/EEPROM switching transistors.
Each functional unit is a relatively small programmable logic array which is mask programmable, fuse programmable, or switch programmable. Other types of functional units such as random access memories and arithmetic logic units may be present. Moreover, additional specialized logic at the output of the sum terms may be present.
Electrically configurable gate arrays have been developed to overcome the gate density limitations of programmable array logic devices and field programmable logic arrays. One such device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,758,745, issued Jul. 19, 1988 to El Gamal et al. In the El Gamal et al. patent, a universal logic module having 3 input terminals and 2 output terminals and functioning as a 2:1 multiplexer is shown. Different types of array modules as well as combinations of two or more types may be used, as well as RAM arrays, ROM arrays, multipliers, and ALUs optimized to implement certain functions. The five terminals of the logic cell are hardwired to five separate vertical wiring channels. Wire channels are segmented and offset.
A similar device to that disclosed in the aforementioned El Gamal et al. patent is disclosed in an article by K. A. El-Ayat et al., "A CMOS Electrically Configurable Gate Array," IEEE Journal of Solid State Circuits, Vol. 24, No. 3, Jun. 1989, pp. 752--61. The chip has a channeled gate array architecture consisting of configurable logic modules organized in rows and columns and separated by wiring channels. The wiring channels contain predefined segmented metal tracks of different segment length to accommodate the routing requirements. Antifuse elements are located at the intersection of the horizontal and vertical wire segments, and also between wire segments in association with isolation transistors. Circuit connections and module configuration are established by programming the appropriate antifuse elements, which then form low impedance connections as required between metal segments. The logic module is configurable, as are the I/O buffers.
El-Ayat et al. discloses a configurable logic module having eight inputs and one output, which is claimed to efficiently implement both combinatorial and sequential circuits and to optimally utilize routing resources. The module implements a 4:1 multiplexer function with inputs A-D; select inputs SA, SB, S0 and S1; and output Y. To implement the required logic function, the module is configured as the desired macrocell by programming the appropriate antifuses at its input terminals to connect the inputs to the required nets and to VDD and VSS.
Despite many improvements having been made in increasing usable gate density while reducing power dissipation, a need exists for a field programmable gate array device having even higher speed, higher density, lower power dissipation, and a more flexible architecture.